Monday 27 July 2015

Wildlife Photography Capture The Best

Whenever we are out in the wild we try to capture every bit it. Most of the time we are happily clicking the animal to our surprise, he is missing in the photo, they are either hidden behind a rock or tree. Being out  in the wild and not getting the right pictures can be frustrating, but you have to be patient and wait for the right movement. It takes a lot into perfecting the skills when in the outdoors and one has to be very sharp when it comes to using the photography equipment.

Saxen Van Coller, who has spent years doing wildlife photography still feels that it is a very challenging task, no matter how many years of experience one has. According to her when you are out in the wild you have been exposed to naked outdoors with just a camera.  There is very little time to take pictures and so the earlier you get comfortable with the surroundings the better it is for you.


When we talk about a lens then there is none better than a telephoto lens. It is all that you need to get the best close up shots. It is  also necessary to make sure the shutter speed is low so that you capture the moving animals with ease. No animal will walk near you so you will be needing a better quality lens. Keep a backup ready at all times, you never know when you will run out of battery or your lens won't work. 

Another important aspect of wildlife photography is to bring all the elements together. Take your time and be patient, this way you will love the results in the end. When you are out in the wild you need to explore the area and its surroundings to get that one glimpse. Try to adapt the area and respect the animal's habitat. Do not go too close to them and make strange noise or stop its activity. Never be a hindrance in their path, especially when they are hunting. Make sure you are as far as possible because you don't want aggravate their anger and cause trouble for yourself.
 
Saxen Van Coller suggests in case you enter a risky territory make sure you move slowly and with complete patience. Wildlife can be extremely gentle and you do not want to hinder that.  It's better if you try to learn more about the area and behaviors of the wild animals to get the best shots.

Thursday 16 July 2015

Saxen Van Coller - Improve Your Field Craft With Simple Tips And Tricks

Wildlife photography has its own goods and dilemma. It is something that requires a lot of work and precision. Saxen Van Coller suggests that when out for a photographic odyssey it is essential that you know some tips and tricks. These help in enhancing the images and giving the desired results. Below are the list of few field craft tricks:

  • Knowing the behavior and habitat of the animal is the key. This may seem old and absurd, but the best wildlife shots are rarely taken on the spur of the moment.
  •  Wear a camouflage or neutral colored, rustle free clothing. Ditch a perfume or deodorant and be on the spot the animals are most active that is usually dusk and dawn. 
  • Getting close to wild animals is a little risky. It's better to hide or bling an essential part of the professional wildlife photography kit so that no harm is caused. 
  • Wild animals are surprisingly tolerant of vehicles, but in the worst case scenario, avoid any sudden movements once you have parked the car. 
  • To get the sharpest shorts, use a beanbag to support the lens in the door frame. Activate the camera or lens stabilizer and switch of the car engine to stop any vibrations.
  • Make an effort and take eye to eye portraits and get yourself down to the animal's eye level. This will result in a more better and intimate portrait. One can also manually choose an autofocus point that corresponds with the animal eye too. 

  • Try using  a spotting scope as big lenses cost big bucks.  You get more magnification for much less if you opt for the Digiscoping route. 
  • Using an adapter with the DSLR or compact camera can be attached to a spotting scope and to get the frame filling shots of distant birds and animals.  The only drawback is you won't have an autofocus.
  • Panning with the animals is a technique to move the camera and lens to follow a moving animal. Here the criteria is that the subject stays more or less in the same position so they appear sharp in the photo while the background is blurred. A tripod fitted with a ball head can help ensure that the pan is smooth and the image is sharp where it needs to be.
The above are an addition to the tricks that one can use to enhance the overall photography experience. These tricks, help in creating some marvelous results with excellent image quality. 

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Saxen Van Coller- Why Canon Cameras Are Still The Favourite Of Most Wildlife Photographers?

In today's day and age, we are looking for better equipment and devices to ease our life. Gadgets today work in favor of professionals who wish to excel.  When we talk about wildlife photography here we are dealing with cameras for better image quality. A professional in this field will need the best camera that comes with latest technological advancements and improvements for better performance and use. Saxen Van Coller a professional wildlife photographer has tried various cameras and according to her Canon and Nikon are the ones that give the best results. They work perfectly in terms of autofocus and extreme low light capabilities.


 Today we will talk about the qualities of the Canon cameras and why most wildlife photographers prefer using this. For me both Nikon and Canon are clear winners, and I have been using them from quite a while. Most Canon shooters ideally carry a Canon 1DX for its amazing autofocus and extreme low light capabilities. This works best when you are out in a wildlife reserve and trying to take photographs of a panther or a herd of wild buffalo's. These work perfectly in the evening when lighting is pretty low or  the animal you wish to capture is near a water body. Below is the list of my favorite Canon cameras:

The Canon 1DX this DSLR is a powerhouse when we talk about wildlife photography. Its function is same as the D4s but it offers an amazing autofocus. Not only is the lighting fast up to 14fps this camera captures grain free images in near pitch black conditions.

Canon 5D Mark III another great choice if you enjoy shooting video and landscapes as well as the wildlife. It comes with a spectacular 3.2 inch LCD, built in HDR, great low light performance, at 6 fps and stunning videos.

Canon 7D Mark II another game changer. This DSLR hosts 10fps an improved autofocus and a sensor for low light. It is probably the best camera when you are looking for those critical wildlife photography shots. While it's a little expensive and is great for those who are not on a budget.

The Canon 6D DSLR is a full frame 20.2MP DSLR offering exceptionally high image quality and detail while it provides compatibility and convenience through its design and features. When this is paired with a powerful DIGIC 5 +image processor and a 14-bit A/D conversion, the full frame sensor is capable of recording vivid imagery with expanded sensitivity up to ISO 102400.

Canon 70D this come its lower price category and is an inexpensive option for beginners. A camera that features a 20.2 megapixel APS-C Cmos sensor and DIGIC 5+ image processor to ensure high resolution images and excellent low light sensitivity. You get well-detailed, clear imagery that exhibits natural tonality and color gradations with minimal noise when working in difficult lighting conditions.

These are some of my favorite Canon cameras. They offer excellent image quality and work in almost all extreme lighting situations, giving you those perfect wildlife shots. 

Monday 13 July 2015

Saxen Van Coller- Give An Edge To Wildlife Photography

A photographer with a keen eye knows how and where to work. If you are skilled you will know the basic of composition, lighting, lenses, aperture, and ISO. But when we are dealing with wildlife photography, animal photographers have to face added challenges. Here they are dealing with animals who we know are very unpredictable. You cannot ask them to move here or to pose like this. You have to click them in the way they are and adjust yourself, camera, and lighting according to them.

Saxen Van Coller who has been taking wildlife pictures from years, says that one of the most important feature is being able to capture the animals lighting-quick movements. This skill takes practice and a lot of it. Here the goal is to capture a still shot of the animal so you need to work with great precision. You have to master your basics to metering the exposure and from the fieldwork to the digital workflow. It's good if you do your research well as the best shots start before a photographer sets foot in the field. Try to learn about their behavior, movements, and habitat. Along with that the best places to shoot and which direction the sunlight is coming from at various times of the day.



Patience is the virtue that every wildlife photographer has to brace. When you are out in the wild it can take a behemoth of hours to get that perfect shot. You may be lying on your stomach for hours waiting to get that perfect shot of the red throated loons near the edge of a pond.  But when you get the perfect shot you feel the wait was worth it.

Think outside the box when it comes  to your vantage point and you are definitely going to get the best. Try using drones this is something that quite a few photographers are using in recent times. These remote devices make it easier to take the cameras closer to the wildlife with causing any disturbance. This is probably on the initial stages as photographers are looking for a quieter and more smaller versions.

Saxen Van Coller says the most dramatic wildlife photographs are usually those which include a very simple and non distracting background. Here your goal should be to highlight your subject and make them stand out. Sometimes the less the better, understand the space, when there is  a tremendous amount of space and chaos usually the subject is lost in the photograph.

Wildlife photography is, not everyone piece of cake. It requires skills and knowledge and the ability to capture the best. There is a responsibility that each wildlife photographer has i.e. educating people on the behavior and habitat so that the animal is better understood and protected.

Wednesday 8 July 2015

Saxen Van Coller- Saving The Wildlife Through Photographs

Wildlife photography is very rewarding and exciting. If you love to travel or, are an animal lover with great camera skills, then you are the right person for this job. When we talk about wildlife photography its is mainly using good field craft skills so that the results are tremendous. In today's modern world the natural settings are diminishing soon meaning that the wildlife living in the wild is also going extinct. There are probably some species of animals that have gone extinct and some are on the verge. Preserving these natural settings at some point, maybe our job.  As a wildlife photographer we can do our bit by taking photographs and using those to spread awareness.




Saving the wildlife from human encroachment is a little tough, but there are so many programs and organizations that are working to prevent the wildlife. In the mean time it is the responsibility that as a photographer we preserve these precious wildlife in a different way that is with photographs. Saxen Van Coller is working in collaboration with a number of organizations for the protection of wildlife. She is using these images to make people aware of and respond to environmental issues. She has spent most of her time using the power of photos to conserve the natural species.  She is an inspiration to many owing to her interest in the wildlife.

Anyone who grew up close to nature will have a strong affinity and would want to save it. Immersed in this habitat she used her camera skills and changed the way her professional life was moving. With a motive, she is trying to move the focus of people and connecting them to the wildlife using her photographs. Her willingness to get up close and personal to the wildlife is also worthy of praises. She has done various expeditions across various forests for photographs that have proved successful. Using her artistic skills she displays the beauty and diversity of the wildlife for an immediate impact on conservation.

Saxen Van Coller has traveled all over the world and captured wildlife and habitats of all sorts. She   is using photography as a tool for conservation and she works both as an educator and photographer who using her images is trying to hammer the importance of the wildlife.

Monday 6 July 2015

Saxen Van Coller- A Brushing On Ways To Get Better At Wildlife Photography

In the past we have all gone through various rules of photography including the do's and Don't s. These are probably some things that every wildlife photographer needs to keep in mind. We have discussed various topics before today we talk about some more rules. There are certain written rules that people follow while there are also some unwritten ones that we follow. It is good if you know the rules, and do not break them as it may hamper you work and as a result lead to low quality images.

Wildlife photography depends entirely on the light, exposure and, the gear. You have all these in perfect balance you are good to go. Know your gear, although this sounds as the biggest cliche yet it plays an important role. To get real, great action packed photographs you have a very narrow time frame probably 5 to 30 seconds. If you do not know your camera and its abilities you will land with photos that you wished you would have never clicked. Knowing the minimum shutter speed will help capture sharp images. Along with that if you know the added margins that are in the camera or in-lens stabilization chances are you may see drastic changes.

According to Saxen Van Coller what matters the most is that you know all the necessary adjustments to the exposure/ focus settings without lifting the eye finder. This will help to capture the action packed images with a blink of an eye. Eye contact with the subject is a must as it gives life to the image. But more than that, make sure the head angle is perpendicular in relation to the camera's imaging sensor.


Another important factor is knowing the light. Stick to the hours of the golden light which means getting up early in the morning and being in the field before sunrise to get the best photographs. There may be a time when its an overcast day where the clouds act as a massive soft box to filter out the light evenly. On such days you can luckily shoot all day long contrary the subject is there. Wildlife photography entirely depends on light so it's up to you how you use the light to your best advantage to get pretty interesting images.

Last most important aspect of wildlife photography according to Saxen Van Coller is patience. When taking pictures of the untamed patience is not a virtue rather it is a necessity. The nature of wild animals is unpredictable, anything can happen anytime and very rarely you get to see them at a specific point and a specific time. Most of us get impatient when out in the field for long yet it is something that one has to work with. So be there and enjoy it and you will get the best results and photographs that will be all praises.

Thursday 2 July 2015

Saxen Van Coller- Know The Wild And Wildlife

Wildlife photography can be a pleasant, harmless, and harmonious activity. It many ways it gives photographers a pleasure when they take risks and click pictures that are all praises. Nature and wildlife photography are very rewarding when done in the right way as it is the most challenging task. A photographer needs to put an extra effort and use these to their best resources. Shooting the wildlife is an exhilarating experience along with being tough. Saxen Van Coller has spent years taking photographs of the wild animals across various places. She has seen a tough time when it comes to shooting the wildlife. 

Wild animals are tough and ferocious creatures that need their space. Hence when you are around them make sure you give them the right space and do not enter their habitat. This way you are risking your life as you never know when they might attack. Wildlife photography is a challenging yet rewarding form of nature photography. The best wildlife images create a powerful emotional connection between the viewer and the animal. Here to get the best results one needs planning, timing, and technique.  



Wildlife photography can produce spectacular results when done with a little care and precision. Start with the urban wildlife, engage and bring joy in your work so that you are able to produce great results at the later stages. When you are in the outdoors with the animals you get to see a different side of them. If you are lucky they may be having fun in the outdoors providing numerous opportunities for you to take best shots. The more time you spend with your subject the more likely your images will be expressive and revealing. 

Saxen Van Coller
suggests take time when you are out in the wild. When going out for a safari you need to know the area and the subject thoroughly. Along with that you also need to know you subject thoroughly as this will help you take the best shots. Every photographer has his or her own style of taking pictures. There are no fixed rules you learn with time and do things your own way. 
Varying your lens choice, will possible help you to get different shots. While a nice head-shot is perfect but what brings a niche is when the animals are captured in their native environment playing around. Hunting shots also look great but are the most tough to capture. Try to get lower and more into the animal’s environment for interesting compositions. 

While you are doing this make sure you maintain a proper distance. No matter how much you enjoy taking pictures of wild animals yet a little care is needed as in the end you life is more important that take photographs.